not all Chain Lubes are created equal

kcm.MN

Well-known Member
Location
NW Minnesota
Many years back, I happened to buy a can of PB Chain Lube spray lubricant. This stuff worked SO well that I would use it when needed, but always kept it on hand. You spray it and it stick and stays in place. Maybe there's a better brand out there, but I haven't found it yet.

Anyway, had forgotten what brand it was - only that it came in a gold can. Haven't seen in in ANY of the stores up here in ages. Finally did an image search for chain lubes and found the brand again, so now can order some. However, I have to wonder why it's not more readily available?? Are there much better brands out now?

Here's the stuff I'm speaking of:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/jbp-hdcl19

Would like to hear what you folks use when you need a lube that stays where you put it and won't sling off.
 
Best chain lube I found was chain saw bar & chain lube with the sticky additive that makes it cling to the chain, about $5 per gallon at TSC. Applied it with a 1 qt oil can with an 18 inch spout from TSC. Oil those combine roller chains with B&C oil in the morning and see the chains still wet with oil a quitting time.
Roller chain life increased 300% compared to using motor oil.
 
(quoted from post at 22:21:20 11/08/17) Many years back, I happened to buy a can of PB Chain Lube spray lubricant. This stuff worked SO well that I would use it when needed, but always kept it on hand. You spray it and it stick and stays in place. Maybe there's a better brand out there, but I haven't found it yet.

Anyway, had forgotten what brand it was - only that it came in a gold can. Haven't seen in in ANY of the stores up here in ages. Finally did an image search for chain lubes and found the brand again, so now can order some. However, I have to wonder why it's not more readily available?? Are there much better brands out now?

Here's the stuff I'm speaking of:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/jbp-hdcl19

Would like to hear what you folks use when you need a lube that stays where you put it and won't sling off.


http://pj1.com/i-19004729-pj1-heavy-duty-black-chain-lube-net-wt-5-oz.html
 
Years ago when I had several motorcycles we used one made by Castrol. Lucas also makes a motorcycle chain lube.
 
It depends on the kind of chain. Traditional roller chain such as is used on farm equipment can (possibly) benefit from a wet lubricant that will penetrate inside the rollers. But "o-ring" chain, as is standard equipment on motorcycles these days, is permanently lubricated and no lube will penetrate past the o-rings. Any lube that's wet or sticky will pick up dust, and dirt is the enemy of roller chain sprockets.

My preferred motorcycle chain lube is Dupont Teflon Chain Saver. They also make a similar product, Dupont Teflon Multi-Use, that's pretty good as well. Lowes used to carry them both but doesn't any more. I've seen Chain Saver at Wally World with the motorcycle supplies. Chain Saver is a waxy lube that goes on wet, then dries and sticks to the chain. It doesn't collect dirt and it doesn't sling off and make a mess.
Dupont Teflon Chain Saver
 
Jon Hagen, agree with you, I use stilh chain oil, increases chain life and sprocket life and keeps the noise down
 
O-ring chains still need lube to oil the sprocket contact. They must be clean and not lubed too sticky or dirt will adhere to them. But they still need a little oil. Any bike shop should have a full shelf of choices. Sticky - non -sticky whatever you need.
 
Back in my motocross and hare scramble days the absolute best chain lube was ChainKote (don't remember the spelling). It went on a little bubbly and then dried and got very tacky. It would not fling off and the chain was still showing lubricant even after a race. I don't they make the same stuff anymore. This was back in the mid 80's.
 
I had a whole crew at a new job I had standing gape-mouthed as I poured oil over a Ditch Witch chain for the first time ever. They had never seen anyone oil a chain before. The place had several old chains with broken-off rollers in the scrap pile, we didn't have to replace one while I was there (3 years, two trenchers running ~4 days/week). Oil your chains, people!
 
Lots of great info here. Thanks everyone!! I can see times when bar & chain oil would make sense, but there are also times when I need a lube that won't fly off.

I know for a lot of folks, they don't care for the sticky lube as it stays long enough to catch and hold dust/dirt/grit and cause unnecessary wear. Others don't like thinner lubes as it will sling off and make a mess, or need to be reapplied too often for their tastes.

Lots of good info here to chew on.
 
Both my boys moto-crossed in year back and I still buy the higher quality spray chain lube from bike shops. A very good investment.
 
Best I found was JB Brothers I think is the name. Company is in California and it comes in an olive drab can. Super lube.
 
We had equipment in farm with roller chains and if you put motor oil on it you would see oil slung on chain guard and even the motorcycle chain lube will sling some too.
 
I have the best luck with Silkolene Chain Lube. Stays on but doesn't seem to pick up much in the way of dirt.

As stated modern O-ring chains are lubed from the inside but I want some oil on the outside to keep the sprocket contact areas lubed and I want to keep the O-rings wet so they don't dry out and crack/shrink which will let the lube out and water and grime in.
 
Chain that is oily on the outside can be dry as a bone inside the rollers. A lube that sticks to the outside of the chain to lube the sprocket has a hard time getting into the inside of the chain to lube the rollers. A thin lube that penetrates the rollers doesn't cling to the outside of the chain long enough to keep lubricating the sprockets. I have found pouring plain old engine oil on slower chains works pretty well though it leaves a mess. High speed chains that are run under full load all day like we have on newer combines don't seem to accept any kind of lube very well.

I used to have a corn head that had seemingly two miles of roller chain going up and around what seemed like a hundred idler and drive sprockets. (I know, exaggeration). It ran fast and was under full load all the time. Of all the different lubes I tried it seemed like squirting plain old engine oil on it twice a day with an old detergent bottle gave me the most life out of the chains. If one of those chains broke, rethreading it was akin to figuring out how to put a serpentine belt back on a modern car engine.
 

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